London at night

Have you thought about the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. It is very interesting and free. Rick Steves book on London tells how to reserve tickets which must be done from out of England. I think the ceremony takes place about 9 or 9:30 in the evening.

I think you get in too late to make the Ceremony of the Keys- If you are on time you still have to clear customs and immigration. That means you won't get "out" until close to 8:30 or even 9:00. If you want to take the Gatwick Express into London you could have a late dinner in the Victoria area. The Shakespear is a nice pub across the street from the station. Then take the Express back to your hotel. But this would be a bit expensive as the train fair is rather high just for a dinner.

Carolyn

The Gatwick Express isn't the only option to Victoria. There are also regular trains which are only slightly slower, and are cheaper.

Also, Victoria isn't the only option for London. There are trains every quarter of an hour to London Bridge, and they take 30 minutes. I would get one of these and take a walk along the river as far as Shakespeare's Globe theatre and eat at somewhere like the Tas, a middle eastern restaurant right next door. You could also stop for a drink at The George - London's last remaining galleried coaching inn.

Finally, London isn't your only option. Also 30 minutes from Gatwick is Brighton. Pop down, have a walk by the sea and a late supper near the Royal Pavilion.

You can work out train times here

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/en/pj/jp?restartJourney=true

See details of the George here

http://www.pubs.com/pub_details.cfm?ID=187

Some pictures of the Globe here

http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/

and check the Royal Pavilion here (although it won't be open at night)

http://www.royalpavilion.org.uk/palace/the_palace.asp

Have a great night, and a good time in Rome.

Alan

I agree with Toni. I think you will be getting in too late to do much, especially if you have to claim your luggage (no carry-on) and then make your transfers to your hotel to drop off your luggage. There may be lockers to store your luggage in at the terminal but I'm not certain of that since I haven't traveled through Gatwick for about 10 years.

I think the last Gatwick express (going both to and from London) is 1:30am and 1:30am respectively) and time is about 15 minutes and a express return ticket runs somewhere around 26.00BPS.

You might want to investigate the area around Gatwick as I've been told there are some nice reastuarants a short taxi ride away. Have a great trip!

London is a lovely city at night, and as you have as late into the night as you want, I would suggest walking thru the city, by Buck House to Parliament and Big Ben, along the Thames and pop into pubs along the way. London is a late night city. Enjoy it like any city you would late at night.